Operation Midget-and-Giant
by She's a Star
Summary: Harry likes Ginny. Ginny likes Harry. The problem? The both of them don't know it. The solution? Ron and Hermione playing matchmaker. COMPLETED.
1. Chapter One

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Operation Midget-and-Giant

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by She's a Star

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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

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A/N: I just _had_ to write it! 

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Dedication: To Cop Crys (PepsiAngel), the Ginny Queen/Gildy Goddess. :)

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Chapter One

Ginny Weasley didn't by any means consider herself beautiful.

For one thing, her hair was a shocking shade of red, the true trademark of a Weasley. Freckles spilled across her nose and cheeks with reckless abandon, contrasting wretchedly against almost frighteningly pale skin. And just to put the sprinkles on the cake, she had gone through a growth spurt over the last year and could now stare down at Ron without the help of high heels. Absolutely delightfully, Harry happened to be practically a head shorter than her brother.

So basically, she was as far away from a ravishing beauty as one could get without being so hideous she was positively gorgeous.

However, when she'd proclaimed this to her close friend, Hermione Granger, the house elf lovin' Head Girl hadn't exactly agreed.

"Virginia Leigh Weasley, don't you _dare_ even talk like that about yourself!" Hermione had exclaimed, going red in annoyance at once. (Ginny couldn't even begin to imagine why...it wasn't as if she'd said it before. Well, perhaps once or twice. Or twelve times that week. But that was beside the point.) "You are _beautiful_, you just need to embrace it! I'd love to be as pretty as you are!"

"You'd be taller than Ron," Ginny reminded her dryly.

"Well," Hermione said in a tone of practiced nonchalance, "Perhaps not _as_ tall..."

"I'm practically a _foot_ taller than Harry," Ginny continued dismally.

"He'll get taller any time now!" Hermione attempted a smile and failed miserably. 

"I'm a freak of nature," declared Ginny in a very firm and final tone. "Who will never be loved by anyone, and who will grow up to be a crazy old lady with lots of cats."

"Ginny, this is for your own sake," Hermione said, sounding as though she was trying very hard to refrain from tearing something to shreds. "Shut. Up."

Unbeknownst to them, a very similar conversation was taking place in the seventh year boys' dormitory. Ron, however, wasn't being quite as refined as Hermione.

"Harry, shut the bloody hell up or I'll take your eye out!" he threatened furiously. 

"I'm almost a _foot_ shorter than her, Ron!" Harry exclaimed. "There are _second years_ taller than I am!"

"That's because she's a _freak of nature_!" Ron proclaimed. "Harry, there are actually halfway decent girls around here! Why dwell on _Ginny_?"

"You know," Harry said, green eyes sparkling deviously, "You're right, Ron. There are other girls. You fancy Hermione would go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

"Never mind, Ginny's good," Ron said at once. "Ginny's very very good. Statuesque beauty if there ever was one, there."

"Well, I'm too short!" Harry wailed. "She probably can't even _see_ me! I'm some tiny little microscopic _speck_ in her vision-"

Meanwhile, Ginny was in the girls' dormitory declaring to Hermione that Harry probably had to resist the urge to shout "How's the weather up there?!" every time he saw her.

This was enough for our obviously-destined-for-each-other pair.

"Aurgh!" Ron and Hermione happened to shout in exasperation at the same time. "You are _impossible_!"

Both stomped out of the dormitories at the same time, only to meet up with one another in the practically-deserted common room.

"I'm so _sick_ of this!" the two declared in unison, both rather reddened from angry annoyance.

"So am I!" they agreed furiously, voices blending to perfection.

"We have to do something about this!" both Ron and Hermione proclaimed at the exact same moment.

"Would you _stop that_??!!" they ordered each other, the words escaping their mouths, surprise surprise, at the same time.

"_You_ stop!" Ron and Hermione both commanded the other in unison. 

The two fell silent for a moment, glaring at each other. 

When both seemed to feel it was safe to speak, Hermione and Ron both opened their mouths.

"I-"

They immediately fell silent once more.

"You talk first," they both said.

"FINE!" Hermione shouted at the top of her lungs before Ron could say anything. 

"Don't talk," she warned him, waving a menacing finger at Ron. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, and Hermione took a deep breath before beginning to speak again.

"Ginny's loved Harry since first year," she said logically. "And Harry has a new infatuation with Ginny-"

"Wait a second!" Ron cut in indignantly. "So Ginny's naturally 'in love', but Harry's just infatuated??"

"Well, male feelings tend to be more physical than emotional," Hermione declared at once, then flushed a shade of red to rival the Gryffindor decor when she realized what she'd said. 

"So you're saying we can't care about anyone?" Ron asked angrily.

"No, I'm just saying-"

"Maybe guys just express their feelings with actions because they're not as _marvelously coherent_ as you are."

"Ron, I'm _sorry_-"

"I'm not just 'infatuated' with..."

"With who, Ron?" Hermione asked in confusion.

_Great,_ she thought bitterly. _He's probably madly in love with some other stunningly pretty girl._

"Never mind," Ron said gruffly. "We're talking about Gin and Harry, remember?"

"Right," Hermione said in an all-business tone, wishing that her cheeks would fade from the burning scarlet that they'd flushed to. "Now, we have to set them up. I think I'll go mad if I have to listen to Ginny complain any longer, and I've heard you threatening to poke Harry's eyes out."

"I wasn't serious," Ron said defensively.

"That doesn't matter," Hermione said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "The point is, we have to set them up before the both of us are locked up in St. Mungo's."

"Sounds like a plan," Ron agreed sarcastically. "But Herm, you're forgetting something."

"Don't call me Herm," she ordered. "And what am I forgetting?"

"Well, _Hermione_," he said, dragging out her name, "My darling sister is practically two heads taller than Harry."

"Oh, Ron, honestly!" Hermione exclaimed. "Height doesn't matter."

"If you're sure," Ron said testily, "But I somehow can't see their first kiss being so very romantic if Ginny has to stand on her knees to kiss him."

"Hush up," Hermione instructed him, slapping his arm lightly. "We're getting them together, and that's that."


	2. Chapter Two

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Chapter Two

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A/N: I'm afraid I have to go totally cliché with you in this chapter and do the whole Ginny-and-Draco-have-detention-together thing. *winces* Sorry.

Detention.

Detention.

Detention detention detention.

"I _hate_ Professor Snape," Ginny proclaimed to no one in particular as she made her way down to the freezing dungeons to fulfill her torture sentence. "Loathe him with the fiery passion of a thousand suns."

"So much, apparently, that you've taken to talking to yourself, Weasley," an ice-cold sneer drawled lazily from behind her. 

Sighing in exasperation, Ginny rolled her chocolate brown eyes before turning around and fixing her not-in-the-least-bit-amused gaze on him. 

"Screw you, Malfoy, I'm not in the mood," she declared frostily, tucking a stray lock of fiery red hair behind her ear. 

"Oooh," a rare smile, so haughty that it made Ginny want to punch something, danced across Malfoy's face. "Getting feisty, are we, Weasley?"

"Yeah, you just have that affect on me," Ginny deadpanned. "Someone please get me a fan; you're just too hot to handle."

"You know, Weasley," Malfoy observed, lips twisted into a smirk, "You're pretty coherent when Potter isn't around."

"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Malfoy," she said sarcastically. "Your opinion means the world to me." 

Malfoy rolled his eyes and kept walking alongside her.

"Did Snape give you detention, too?" she asked him.

Malfoy shook his head, silver-blonde hair firmly in place. Ginny wondered with an amused smile how much hair potion he used: the amount probably put Gilderoy Lockhart to shame. 

If that was possible, of course.

"He asked me to help him clean out the student supply closet earlier," Malfoy said simply.

"You're helping out a teacher?" Ginny asked quizzically. "That's not very badass of you."

"Well, your robes don't look secondhand," snapped Malfoy in return. "That's not very impoverished-trash of you."

"Well, I have to say," Ginny retorted evenly, hoping that her face hadn't gone completely red and betrayed how angry she was, "Your hair is perfectly styled, if I do say so myself, and that's _very_ Gilderoy Lockhart-esque of you."

"Don't compare me to that narcissistic pixie," Malfoy sneered.

"With all due respect, Draco dear," Ginny said with a wry smile, "Lockhart isn't the one with a mother named _Narcissa._"

Malfoy opened his mouth to retort, but Ginny continued before any words could escape.

"And the whole self-loving trait really does seem to run in the family."

"Don't talk about my mother, Weasley," Malfoy ordered furiously, pale cheeks flushing a soft pink.

"What're you going to do?" Ginny challenged. "Hit me?? I'm a girl, you know."

He stared down at her in raging frustration, and Ginny looked up at him with an innocent smile.

_Stared down._

Looked up.

He had been _staring down_ at her. She was _looking up_ at him. 

"You're extremely tall," she commented before wondering why the words had escaped her mouth.

"You're catching up," Malfoy retorted blandly. "Now remind me, exactly, why we're having a conversation."

"I haven't a clue," Ginny responded coldly as they reached the dungeon doors. "But I think it's enough talking for one day. Don't you?"

"Enough for a lifetime, Weasley."

And with that, the Gilderoy Lockhart-esque badass and impoverished trash stepped silently into Snape's dungeon.

~*~

"Operation Midget-and-Giant ready to go," Ron announced in a whisper to Hermione the next morning in the Great Hall.

"_What?!_" Hermione asked, immediately bursting into laughter. 

"Well, it needs a code name, doesn't it?"

"You're impossible," Hermione proclaimed. 

"You're just jealous that you can't come up with ingenious things like that," Ron declared, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

"Am not."

"Are t..."

The words immediately died on Ron's lips, and his brown eyes opened so wide that it looked as though they'd fall out at any moment. 

"Ron?" Hermione asked suspiciously. "What is i-"

"What the bloody hell?" he muttered to himself, staring in disbelief at the end of the Gryffindor table.

Hermione followed his gaze to see Draco Malfoy standing over Ginny, muttering something in her ear. She didn't look thrilled at his presence, but didn't tell him to leave either.

Ron looked positively fuming, and Hermione opened her mouth to give him a logical explanation of some sort to why Malfoy was there, but found upon searching her mind for a reason that there wasn't one. 

Not one she could fathom, anyway.

"I'm going to kill him," Ron was muttering wildly to himself. "Tear him apart with my bare hands-"

"Ron!" Hermione cut in, noticing with a start that he was eyeing his fork very longingly. She doubted that Professor McGonagall would be awarding Gryffindor any points for giving Malfoy a million tiny puncture wounds, no matter how much she undoubtedly would want to.

"He's talking to my sister, Herm!" Ron cried wildly.

Hermione gave him a pointed look.

"...ione," he finished weakly. "What's wrong with me calling you Herm, anyway?"

"_No one_ is allowed to call me Herm," she responded threateningly.

"I bet you had no problem with Vicky doing it."

"Viktor _never_ called me 'Herm'-"

"Ah, yes, I forgot," Ron said bitterly. "He never quite mastered how to pronounce your name, did he, Hermi-o-ninny?"

"Shut up," Hermione snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I-"

"What d'you reckon Malfoy's doing?" Harry cut in as he sank down next to Ron.

"Asking to be executed," Ron growled back. 

Hermione sighed inwardly with relief, glad that they'd gotten off the not-so-friendly subject of Viktor Krum. Though she'd rather fry her own fingernails and eat them before admitting it to Ron, if she could go back and time and change things, she wouldn't have gone to the ball with Viktor at all. She would have much rather gone with....

Never mind, then.

"He's abnormally tall," Ron declared, brown eyes sparkling dangerously as he studied Malfoy and his sister, who were conversing almost pleasantly. "Taller than Gin, that bastard is."

"Ron," Hermione scolded automatically. "Don't swear."

"Forgive me, O Goddess of all things virtuous and perfect," Ron retorted sarcastically.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," Hermione observed, fighting to keep her tone even.

"Oooh, clever, that was," Ron snarled. "Did you think it up yourself?"

"Oh, honestly, what is your _problem_?!" Hermione demanded furiously. 

At this, the both of them paused for a moment and studied Harry, waiting for him to move in and break up the argument. When he didn't even move his gaze from Malfoy and Ginny, Ron and Hermione exchanged nervous looks.

"You reckon he's going to go mad and kill Malfoy?" Ron asked, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Oh, _you_," Hermione chided, rolling her eyes. "Gryffindor has an extremely low chance at winning the House Cup as it is; imagine how it would be if Professor McGonagall had to take off a thousand-or-so points for _murder_!"

Ron opened his mouth to respond, but before he said anything, Harry cut in glumly, "You reckon she likes him?"

Immediately, Ron's mouth dropped open in horrified disgust and he studied Harry as though he'd just morphed into Lockhart. (Strange, how some people just _can't_ appreciate Mr. Magical Me himself!)

"Oh, don't be silly," Hermione said logically. "There's no way Ginny likes Malfoy."

"Why not?" Harry asked defensively, his bright green eyes forlorn. "He's the only bloke in the school who's taller than her."

"Oh, Harry, height doesn't _matter_!" Hermione exclaimed, exasperated. "It's what's inside that counts! And besides, I know who she likes, and it's _not_ Malfoy."

"Who is it, then??" Harry challenged.

"Are you blind, deaf, _and_ mentally slow?!" Ron exploded. "It's so bloody obvious, Harry!"

"It is?"

"It's _you_, you great prat!" hissed Ron, seeming much more at ease as Malfoy stood up and walked out of the hall. 

"Oh, it is not!" Harry retorted skeptically. "She probably can't even _see_ me!"

"Harry, she's fancied you since her first bloody year!" declared Ron.

"She can't _still_ like me!"

"She does!"

"She can't!"

"She. Does."

"She-"

"Hi, Ginny!" Hermione said loudly, causing Harry and Ron to shut up at once. Their eyes shot up behind Hermione only to see that no one stood there but a Ravenclaw girl that was passing by.

"Funny," Ron said snidely. "Real funny."

Hermione smiled innocently. "I know."

~*~

"Oh, that Malfoy is such an awful jerk," declared Crystal Ohno, one of Ginny's good friends in her year. "I can't believe he had the nerve to come over here; what was he talking to you about, Ginny?"

"He's not that awful," Ginny retorted.

"_I_ think he's rather handsome," Rachel McGregor said, a dreamy smile drifting across her face as she absently twirled a strand of strawberry blonde hair around her finger.

"He's terrible," Eloise Midgen cut in. "Have you heard the way he talks to Ginny and Ron?"

"_What _was he talking to you about?" Crystal repeated, sounding a bit irritated.

"The Seventh Years' Ball," Ginny muttered, cheeks flushing as her gaze fell to the table. 

"The _ball_?!" squealed Rachel. "Did he ask you??"

Ginny shook her head truthfully. It had certainly seemed that way, however. Biting her bottom lip and tasting the cherry gloss, she recalled the conversation in her mind.

_"Hey, Weasley," he'd greeted her with his signature smirk._

"What do you want, Malfoy?" she'd whispered back in annoyance, her friends studying her curiously.

He'd then sank down into the empty seat next to her, whispering into her ear. 

"Are you going to the Seventh Year Ball?"

"In case you haven't noticed yet, Malfoy, I'm not in seventh year."

Malfoy had rolled his piercing gray eyes at this. "I know that, Weasley, I'm not as dense as the idiots I hang out with. Has anyone asked_ you yet?"_

_"No."_

"You mean Potter hasn't gotten around to it?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Well, that's probably a relief. You'd crush him to death."

Fury boiling in her veins, she'd snapped, "Does this conversation have a point_, Malfoy?"_

"I'm getting there, Weasley," he said with an infuriating half-smile. "I'm getting there."

"Well then get there and get out of my face."

"Touchy, Weasley."

"You know, Malfoy, it's really hard to struggle with hiding my undying and fiery love for you, so can you just leave me to daydream of your holier-than-thou self in peace?"

"You'd rather daydream about me than have me right here in the flesh?"

"Actually, I'd rather have you go away."

"Well, then I think I'll just stay awhile."

"Why the hell are you talking to me, Malfoy? It might tarnish your reputation, you know. After all, my family is trash."

"I don't give a rat's ass about your family_, Weasley. Nothing's going to stop me from talking to a pretty girl."_

"Funny."

"How do you know I'm not being serious?"

"Instinct," Ginny snapped. "Malfoy, do the 'pretty girl' a favor and stop torturing her, okay??"

"Fine," Malfoy had stood up. "Later, Weasley."

"Ginny! Hello?" 

Ginny snapped out of her reverie to find Crystal's hand waving in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry, I-"

"Someone's here to speak to you," Crystal informed her, tilting her head slightly to the left. 

There stood Ron, positively barking mad.

"What the bloody _hell_ were you thinking, Ginny!?" he thundered. "Talking to that bloody prat? You'd better not fancy him, Ginny, because you know what guys like him are after!"

"No, Ron," Ginny said sweetly. "What are they after?"

"You know what they're after," Ron sneered, his ears flushing. "Now, stop talking to that git, you hear me, Ginny?"

"Ron, you're not Mum-"

"And thank God for that, because if I was, I'd probably be _dead_ from _shock_!"

"Oh, for the love of all things holy, just shut up and go back over to Hermione and Harry!"

"Ah! Harry!" Ron said, a mad glint in his eyes. "Forgotten about him, have you, Ginny? Because he fancies you, Gin, he fancies you a lot. And he's not some bloody Slytherin, either!"

"Shut up, Ron," Ginny ordered coldly, fury pulsating through her. Oh, it was just like her brother, to embarrass her by pointing out that Harry would never like her!

There was no way he was serious.

"I'm _serious_, Gin," Ron continued. "But if you're going to go off and like Malfoy instead..."

"Ron, it's not funny."

"I'm not joking! I-"

Ron was cut off by the bell, which rang through the Great Hall and caused students to immediately stand up and pour towards the doors.

"Ginny, don't you-"

"Got to go to Transfiguration, Ron," she said bitterly. "See you."

And with that, she left her brother standing in the Great Hall, muttering furiously to himself about Slytherin bastards taking advantage of innocent sixth years.


	3. Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

"Breathe in," Hermione instructed gently from where she stood next to Ron in Potions. "Breathe out."

Ron resisted the urge to bash in Malfoy's thick head as he walked past, and instead sprinkled the powdered wormwood into his cauldron, which contained his half-finished Height Potion.

"We have to get Harry and my sister together," Ron hissed back. "We _have _to, Hermione. I'm not letting her end up with that slimy prick...I'm not having Ginny end up pregnant before her seventh year!"

"Oh, Ron, Ginny's a smart girl!" Hermione retorted. "She wouldn't...er..."

Her voice trailed off, and the two looked extremely embarrassed as they turned back to their potions.

In a vain attempt to change the subject, Ron asked weakly, "Is the potion supposed to be acid green like this?"

Hermione stared into his cauldron and let out a little moan of dismay. "_Ron_! It's supposed to be magenta!" 

Ron leaned over and stared down into her cauldron. Sure enough, her potion was a bubbling dark pink.

"Perhaps we'd better use yours, then," he muttered.

"_What_??" Hermione asked in exasperation.

"Well, we had this planned out already! We're going to 'accidentally' spill the potion on Harry. He should grow at least a bit..."

"No!" cried Hermione indignantly. "No way are you wasting my potion, Ron Weasley! It's _perfect_, and can you imagine how many marks Snape would take off for that??"

"I-"

"Sharing answers, Weasley? Granger?" Professor Snape asked coldly as he walked past them. "I won't tolerate cheating in this class. Five points from Gryffindor."

"Great job, Ron," Hermione muttered angrily as soon as Snape was out of earshot. 

"Herm, spill it," instructed Ron under his breath. "Harry's _right there next to you!_ Imagine how perfect it would be! Then he'll actually be at least her height!"

"No, Ron, and that's final!" spat Hermione. "You're not ruining my potion! I-"

However, before she could protest any longer, Ron threw himself into Hermione and caused her to go flying down to the hard stone floor, him on top of her. The sizzling pink potion splashed at once all over Harry.

"Ron!" Hermione shrieked from where she lay under him. "You...you..."

"Sorry, Hermione," he said with a wicked smile. "It was an accident. I'm so clumsy sometimes."

"You're terrible," Hermione declared, pushing on his shoulders in an attempt to get him off of her. 

Realizing just how close they were, he immediately stood up and grabbed her hand to help her from the floor, his ears a burning scarlet. 

"Weasley! Granger!" shouted Professor Snape, black eyes sparkling in malice. "What are you doing?"

He rushed over at once.

"I won't have your vulgar flirtations disrupting my class," he spat coldly. "If you want to go roll around on the floor together, I suggest you get a hotel room."

Hermione's cheeks immediately flushed pink in embarrassment, the Slytherins' snickers dancing through the air.

"Who'd have thought you to be a slut, Granger?" Pansy Parkinson shouted through her giggles. Snape paid her no mind, even though if it had been a Gryffindor they would have had more points taken away than Crabbe and Goyle could count.

"Thirty points from Gryffindor!" Snape snapped. "For your vulgar actions."

"He _fell_!" Hermione spoke up defiantly, sounding not at all like herself. "It was an accident!"

"Ten more points from Gryffindor," Snape declared viciously. "For arguing with a teacher, Granger."

Hermione looked as though she were blinking back tears, and Ron awkwardly placed a hand on her arm as Snape moved on.

"Listen, Hermione, I'm really, _really_ sorry," he apologized. 

He expected her to explode at him (after all, she'd lost it at him for things much less trivial than that before), but to his surprise, she just forced a weak smile.

"It's okay."

"Er...guys??"

Hermione and Ron both turned to see Harry, who had been long forgotten, staring down at them in panic. He had to be at least seven feet tall.

"Oh!" Hermione cried, placing her hand to her mouth in dismay.

"Oi, Harry, I'm really sorry," Ron said weakly. 

Harry looked as though he were refraining from getting extremely angry as he raised his hand weakly. The gesture wasn't needed to get him noticed, however; he towered over every other person in the dungeon.

"Professor Snape?" he asked weakly. "Can I go to Madam Pomfrey's?"

"Fine, go, Potter," Snape said angrily. "Five more points from Gryffindor for missing class."

Ron muttered something that he would have rather died than said in front of his mother, but Hermione seemed to be so angry at Snape that she didn't even begin to scold him. Instead, she was staring at the magenta-soaked floor in dismay.

"I would have gotten the highest marks for that," she whispered to Ron forlornly.

Ron stared down at the acid green liquid in his own cauldron. 

"Well, at least we used yours and not mine," he responded. "Otherwise, Harry would have probably gone crashing through the roof."

Hermione paused for a moment before looking up and nodding in agreement.

"This had better work," she declared wistfully.

~*~

"Hey, Malfoy."

"Ron, _don't_!" Hermione instructed desperately. "If Snape catches you, Gryffindor will be in even more trouble-"

"What do you want, Weasley?" Malfoy called back, surrounded by a swarm of Slytherins with Pansy hanging adoringly off his arm.

Taking a deep breath, Ron made his way over to them.

"Ron, _no_!" Hermione pleaded, grabbing onto his arm in a vain attempt to keep him there. Ron just shook her off and kept walking, and soon her desperate words had faded. 

"Can I talk to you alone?" Ron asked coldly.

An infuriating smirk contorted Malfoy's face as he waved one hand, gesturing for his friends and admirers to move along. "Sure, Weasley. What do you want?"

The hall grew quiet as it emptied, and soon Hermione was the only one left, watching anxiously for a moment. Ron jerked his head slightly towards the staircase, and she reluctantly made her way up it, her footsteps echoing in his ears.

"What do you want, Weasley?" Malfoy repeated impatiently. "I don't have all day, you know."

"I want you to stay away from my sister."

"Good for you," Malfoy said with a twisted smile. "But it's going to take a lot more than that to keep me away from her."

"What do you want with her, anyhow?" Ron asked, fighting to stay outwardly calm. "It's no secret that you hate our family."

"I think you can guess what I want with her, Weasley," Malfoy said, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"You bloody bastard!" Ron exploded, lunging at him. "I'm going to kill you!"

Bursting with furious adrenaline, he slammed his fist into Malfoy's nose, which broke with a satisfying crack.

"You son of a _bi-_"

"What's going on here?"

Both Professors Snape and McGonagall appeared at the same moment, McGonagall descending the stairs and Snape from his dungeon. As soon as Snape's eyes fell upon Malfoy, he snapped, "One hundred points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it's not more!"

"That's not fair!" Ron protested furiously. "You didn't hear what he said-"

"One hundred and _fifty_ points!" Snape boomed. 

"Severus," Professor McGonagall cut in calmly. "_I_ will handle the points. You get back to work."

"But-"

"Severus," McGonagall said in a final tone, glaring at him. Muttering indistinctly under his breath, Snape turned and stormed back into his dungeon.

"Now," Professor McGonagall turned her attention to Ron and Malfoy. "What in Heaven's name is going on here?"

"Weasley went mad and attacked me!" Malfoy declared at once, holding his nose.

Instead of punishing Ron, however, McGonagall raised a skeptical eyebrow at him before turning to Ron.

"He was threatening to sexually harass my sister," Ron exclaimed.

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened incredulously. "Mr. Malfoy, is this true?"

"That's not the point!" Malfoy said defensively.

"Sexual harassment is _not_ something to be taken lightly at Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall declared firmly. "Twenty-five points from Slytherin."

"_What?!_" Malfoy exploded. "But that puts us in second place behind Ravenclaw!"

"You should have thought of that before your actions," Professor McGonagall said. "Mr. Weasley, I won't take any points from Gryffindor. Just don't resolve to violence again."

And with that, she turned and continued back up the stairs.

"Oh, I'll get you for that, Weasley," threatened Malfoy angrily. "I think I'll make your sister my date for the Seventh Years' Ball, in fact."

"She won't go with you," Ron responded, sounding more confident than he felt. "She's not stupid. She'll go with Harry."

"At least Potter's got a date, then," Malfoy said dryly. "You and that mudblood Granger will probably end up going alone like the pathetic trash you are."

"Leave Hermione out of this!" Ron ordered furiously. 

"Sorry," Malfoy said, sounding not the least bit apologetic. "But she's just too easy to mock...mudblood, suck-up, and madly in love with one of her best friends, on top of that!"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked suspiciously.

Malfoy laughed coldly. "You mean you haven't seen it yet, Weasley? It's so painfully obvious."

And with that, Malfoy turned and walked away from him, leaving Ron to wonder miserably just when Hermione had started fancying Harry, and why he hadn't yet noticed it.


	4. Chapter Four

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Chapter Four

"Madame Pomfrey?" Harry asked awkwardly as he stepped into the hospital wing. The nurse immediately stopped humming and stared in exasperation as he ducked down and squeezed through the door frame.

"What's happened to you now, Potter?" she asked dryly. 

"Incident in potions with the Height Potion," Harry explained, staring down at Madame Pomfrey. 

She sighed. "Don't worry. You're not the first, Potter. I'll be right back."

He sank down awkwardly on one of the beds, his head a disturbingly small distance away from the ceiling. In a few moments, Madame Pomfrey came over and handed him a golden goblet containing a sky blue liquid.

"Keep taking sips of this until you're back to your normal height," she instructed, transfiguring a small pocket mirror on a bedside table into a full-length one that levitated in thin air. "Wait around thirty seconds in between sips."

Harry stood and took a sip of the liquid, which tasted a bit like muggle cotton candy. Immediately, he shrunk a few inches and was able to see half of his head in the mirror. He repeated the process a few more times until his whole body was visible in the looking glass. After taking a few more sips, he was a bit taller than Ron. He lifted the goblet to his lips, then paused.

If he was a bit taller than Ron, he would be around Ginny's height.

Smiling slyly, he set the goblet down onto the bedside table and announced to Madame Pomfrey, who had her back to him, "I'm all better now. I'd better be off to Transfiguration."

And with that, a newly-tall Harry Potter stepped happily out into the corridor. It was mostly deserted, seeing as class had let out and then started again moments before. As a matter of fact, the only other figure in the hall was a slender redhead who was currently bent over on the floor, struggling to pick up a scatter of books, parchment and quills.

"Dammit," she was muttering angrily. "Snape is going to kill me."

Grinning, Harry bent down and picked up a textbook, then handed it to Ginny.

"Here."

She looked up, cheeks seeming to flush. 

"Oh, thank you, Harry," she said, smiling in a manner that made her look even more radiantly beautiful than usual.

"No problem," he responded, trying to stay calm as he gathered up a few more things and handed them to her. When they both stood up once more, Harry found that he was an inch or two taller than Ginny.

"Harry," she said in surprise. "You're...tall."

"Yeah," he said, feeling his cheeks flush and cursing blushing inwardly. "Incident with the Height Potions in Snape's class."

"Well," she said with a sweet smile. "You look...nice."

"Thanks," Harry said, trying to stop himself from grinning like an idiot at having the ability to stare _down_ at her. 

They studied each other in silence for a moment, Ginny's warm brown eyes dancing merrily. 

"Er...I'd better get to Transfiguration," Harry said awkwardly.

"Yeah," Ginny agreed. "I'm already late for Potions."

"Well..."

"Well..." Ginny echoed, smiling.

"See ya," Harry managed to squeeze out, raising one side of his mouth at her in a half-smile.

"Bye, Harry," she said happily. 

And with that, Harry turned and hurried towards McGonagall's classroom, resisting the urge to punch his fist into the air and yell, 'Yes!' at the top of his lungs.

Making her way down to the dismal dungeons, Ginny skipped through the corridors, grinning foolishly to herself.

~*~

"Harry," Ron burst out as soon as they left double Transfiguration and made their way to the Great Hall for lunch, "You're _tall_!"

Unnoticed by Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged a high five after this statement.

"Yeah," Harry said with a grin. "It looks like your little accident in Potions wasn't all bad, after all."

"At least something came of it," Hermione sighed wistfully, still a bit downcast at losing her perfect potion.

"Oh, Hermione, you made another one and it was exactly the same!" Ron exclaimed. "Quit being such a moany muffin."

At this order, Harry and Hermione both burst into hysterical laughter.

Tears of mirth in her golden-brown eyes, Hermione managed to choke out through her giggles, "Moany...muffin?"

"My mum's words," Ron said at once, staring down at the floor in embarrassment. "Not mine."

"Suuure," Harry said with a cheeky smile. "We believe you, Ron."

"I miss the days when I could smoosh you like a bug," Ron proclaimed moodily. 

"I don't."

"Figures," Ron said. "Otherwise, you'd be dead by now."

"So, Harry?" Hermione asked casually. "Are you thinking of asking anyone to the ball?"

At once, Ron seemed to tense up, and his expression turned cold and stony.

"Yeah," Harry said. "I think I've got someone in mind. How about you?"

"Well," she responded, blushing. "I suppose I'd like to be asked by...never mind."

"C'mon!" Harry urged. "Who is it, Hermione?"

"No one," she said, embarrassed. "Oh, look, we're here."

And with that, the silent trio entered the Great Hall.

~*~

"Weasley."

"Aah!"

Ginny let out a shriek of fright as she felt someone grab her and pull her into Professor Flitwick's empty classroom. She turned around to see Draco Malfoy's amused face smirking at her.

"What _is_ it, Malfoy?" she asked impatiently, eager to get down to the Great Hall and see Harry.

"Go to the ball with me."

It was an order rather than a proposition.

"Are you ordering me?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, who would you rather go with?" Malfoy asked, laughing shortly. "_Potter_?"

"_Yes_, as a matter of fact, I would."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Well, I doubt he's going to ask you, Weasley."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ginny responded coldly, lying through her teeth.

"It's in three days," he reminded her. "I doubt Potter will suddenly realize his 'undying love' for you by then."

"Well, even if he doesn't ask me, I'd rather sit in my dormitory and write History of Magic essays than go with you, Malfoy."

"Fine, Weasley," he snapped. "But it's your loss."

"I'm sure I'll regret it for the rest of my life," she retorted sarcastically, picking up her bag and leaving the classroom (and Malfoy) behind.


	5. Chapter Five

****

Chapter Five

_Harry_, Ron thought miserably as he stared at his best friends conversing across the table. _Harry. She likes Harry._

Well, of course she liked Harry. It figured, after all. He was the hero, and the hero always got the girl. The sidekick never got much of anything.

After all, they were just there to provide comedic entertainment.

Other than his occasional witty one-liners, Ron decided that he was pretty much pointless.

"Ron, what's gotten into you?" Hermione asked him, sounding a bit concerned. "You're being so quiet."

"Nothing," he responded stonily. 

_As if you even care_, he added silently. _Seeing as I'm not Harry and all._

"If you're sure," Hermione said, sounding thoroughly unconvinced as she turned back to Harry. However, moments later Ginny came over and sunk down in the seat next to Ron. Immediately, Harry's green eyes lit up, and he began to talk to Ginny, leaving Hermione forgotten.

_Why did she want to fix them up if she likes Harry, anyway? _he asked himself in confusion. _Just trying to hide it, I suppose. Putting Ginny's happiness in front of her own...that's just like Hermione._

Hermione didn't look very affected at all at the fact that Harry was openly ignoring her to talk to Ginny. As a matter of fact, she just looked satisfied at having gotten them to speak to each other.

"Hermione," Ron said quietly. "Can I talk to you outside for a second?"

She looked a bit confused. "Sure, Ron."

The two of them walked side by side out of the Great Hall. As soon as they were in the main hall, Hermione asked, "What is it?"

"Er...Operation Midget and Giant is going pretty well, huh?" he asked weakly. "Even though it's more like Giant and Giant now."

Hermione nodded, a smile gracing her face. "They're actually talking...I do hope he asks her to the ball."

Mustering up his courage, Ron asked softly, "Doesn't it bug you at all?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Harry...and Ginny."

She shook her head. "No, not at all. They're both some of my best friends. I'd love for them to be happy."

"But...wouldn't you rather be with Harry?"

"No!" Hermione exclaimed at once, looking disgusted at the mere thought. "Where in the world did you get that idea??"

"You mean you don't like Harry?" Ron asked, feeling his heart leap within his ribcage. 

"No, of course not," Hermione said. "How could you even think that?"

"Well, just something Malfoy said," Ron said, feeling incredibly stupid to have even believed him. "Dumb of me to listen."

"What did Malfoy say?" Hermione asked.

"Um...something about you being madly in love with one of your best friends," Ron recollected.

Hermione's cheeks immediately flushed dark pink, and she bit her bottom lip nervously.

"But you don't like Harry, right?" Ron confirmed. 

"No."

"So it's not true?"

"Well," Hermione said awkwardly, studying the floor. "Not exactly."

_What the bloody hell?_ Ron thought incredulously. 

"Then who is i..."

His voice trailed off as realization struck him.

It was him.

It was _him_!

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologized abruptly, looking positively miserable. "I just...oh, Ron, I don't want to ruin our friendship! I'm so sorry! I know you're positively disgusted; I'm not pretty at all, and-"

"Hermione," Ron cut her off, taking her hand in his. "I'm madly in love with one of my best friends, too."

She looked completely shocked, but managed to say with a faint smile, "I hope it's not Harry."

Ron shook his head, grinning broadly.

Hermione smiled back. "I didn't think so."

~*~

"What do you reckon they're doing?" Harry asked interestedly, staring at Ron and Hermione's empty seats.

"I don't know," Ginny said. "Hopefully confessing their feelings about each other...it's about time."

Harry nodded in agreement. "I know. Do you have any idea how aggravating it's been, hanging out with those two constantly and for four years wanting nothing more than to shout 'ADMIT IT ALREADY!'?"

Ginny giggled. "I can imagine."

"We should get them together," Harry said.

"Yeah," Ginny agreed. "Operation...Know-It-All and Quidditch-Obsessive."

"Sounds like a plan," Harry laughed. "They'd better go to the Seventh Years' Ball together or I'll hurt the both of them."

"So," Ginny said, trying to sound casual. "Are you going to the ball with anyone?"

"No," Harry responded. "Er...you?"

"Nope," Ginny said.

"So, maybe do you want to go together?" Harry asked nervously.

"Sure," Ginny smiled. "I'd like that a lot."

She silently added, _Eat your heart out, Malfoy._

"Great," Harry grinned. 

"Yeah," Ginny agreed, blushing. 

"Now all we've got to do is get Ron and Hermione to go together," declared Harry.

"I don't think that will be much of a problem," Ginny responded, pointing towards the entrance to the Great Hall. 

Ron was muttering something to Hermione, who was smiling in return. Their fingers were entwined, arms swinging lightly as they walked.

"Aww!" squealed Ginny in girlish delight as the two reached the table and sank down next to each other.

"So, Ron," Harry said with a smile. "D'you have a date for the ball yet?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Ron returned slyly. "How about you?"

Harry nodded.

"You know that if you do anything to upset Ginny, you answer to _me_," Ron informed him, then realized that Harry was indeed taller than him now. "How I miss it way back when-"

"When you could squish me like a bug," Harry finished.

"It was smoosh," Hermione corrected him. 

Harry opened his mouth to reply when the unwelcome drawl of Draco Malfoy interrupted him.

"And you're all living happily ever after, I suppose?" he sneered.

"Yeah, actually," Ron responded with a forced smile. "And really, Malfoy, it's all thanks to you."

Malfoy looked absolutely revolted at the prospect of causing anyone's 'happily ever after', and with a disgusted grunt, he turned and walked back towards the Slytherin table, leaving them all to live, well, you guessed it.

Happily ever after.

(That is, at least until Hermione and Ron began to argue five minutes later and Harry accidentally spilled a pitcher of orange juice on Ginny...but let's just leave it at happily ever after, shall we?)


End file.
